In the early 1960s Dr Richard Beeching was appointed as Chairman of British Railways and commissioned to examine the state of the industry’s finances. This book takes a detailed look at the Beeching report and examines the background factors that brought about the need for this report.
Following on from its analysis of the report itself, the book then considers how the railway industry has evolved since the report was published in 1963 and how far Beeching’s aspirations have been realised. Although Beeching’s legacy is often perceived as negative in the wake of the vast number of line and station closures, the book also considers the many developments since that era including the establishment of the “social railway” concept and the modernisation of key trunk routes.
Well-illustrated throughout with around 60 black & white photographs. 64 pages.